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From: tonym@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Tony Martinez)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Orphaned Response
Message-ID: <1932@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Apr-85 13:42:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.1932
Posted: Mon Apr 29 13:42:40 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 3-May-85 05:11:54 EDT
References: <-442300@ucla-cs.UUCP> <7600009@hpfcly.UUCP> <1928@sdcrdcf.UUCP> <2036@sdcc6.UUCP>
Reply-To: tonym@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Tony Martinez)
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 36
Summary: 

In article <2036@sdcc6.UUCP> ix415@sdcc6.UUCP (Rick Frey) writes:
>If God's only method for revealing
>devine truth were to be the Holy Spirit than why do we have the Bible?
>Is it just a history text?  If we can make no good out of it ourselves
>then what purpose does it serve?  
>
I'm sorry that Rick misunderstood the point I was trying to get across.
I did not say that the revealed word of God is not essential to our
learning.  On the contrary, the scriptures are one of God's greatest
blessings.  My whole discussion was based on the assumption that a person
did not yet know the truth.  Once one has faith that the Bible is the word
of God (which faith I have), then one must use it as a resource to gain
truth.  But what of the person who does not know if the Bible is true.
If a person has for the first time before him the Bible, the writings of
Mohammed, Sacred text from Buddhism, etc., how would that person know what
of the text before him is the truth and word of God.  The person would have
to study the literature diligently.  But the only way he could find out
what was from God would be through prayer, and having God reveal to him, by
the Holy Ghost, which was true.  This is my whole point.  A person could
study and read these books all of their lives, but
until one recieves from God a witness of the truth, that person will NEVER
know truth from error.  After having recieved that initial witness of
truth, then the picture changes.  We then have an obligation to diligently
study and obey all the word of God.
    Rick mentioned that we can not sit around until we are hit on the head
with the truth.  I could not agree more.  May I close with a quote from
modern revelation concerning the subject of prayer, study, and the receipt
of truth:

     "Behold, you have not unerstood, you have supposed that I would give
it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.  But behold, I
say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind, then you must ask me
if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn
within you; therefore you shall feel that it is right."

                                         Doctrine & Covenants 9:7-8